Nothing Less Than Torture
by SilverstarsEbonyskies
Summary: A short story in four parts. A few months in high school can change many things. It's sad how friends so close can drift so far apart...DS
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I've decided to try my hand at a two-shot. (I don't think I'd be able to do a one shot…) Keep in mind I haven't done one of these before…so you are warned. Also keep in mind that this will be slightly depressing in the beginning. Now on with the show!

Disclaimer: I have never owned this show despite how much I love it. I'll go sulk in a corner now.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing Less Than Torture

Part One

I see him standing there in the hallway, just staring at me with a look I can't define. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to rip my eyes away. I see Paulina hanging off his arm like a leech or some other form of creature that I'd like to incinerate. I still don't know how we drifted so far apart, but I know it's at least partially my fault. I somehow tear my eyes away from his gaze when my boyfriend taps me on the shoulder.

"How many times have I told you not to do that!" I say irritably.

"Sorry, sorry."

It didn't sound sincere. It doesn't really matter to me. I was planning on dumping him later today after the movie date anyways. I smile at my boyfriend, Timothy, when he puts his arm around me, but I'm really only doing that as a reflex. In my mind, I smile grimly to myself as I reflect upon happier times. I didn't know exactly how good I had it. We start to walk down the hallway. As we get ever closer to him, to Danny, I get more uncomfortable. I avert my eyes, looking at Timothy instead while trying to plaster an adoring look on my face that I only half hope is convincing. I don't know if it worked or not, but I know my boyfriend was fooled.

Danny would have noticed, at least before we turned our separate ways. It's depressing how things unfolded. Danny had started to gain some serious muscle from fighting ghosts, and it started to show. Not to mention that he was getting more handsome in the eyes of the popular crowd. At first, when they started to advance, Danny didn't even give them the light of day. That was, until Paulina deemed him good enough to dump Dash for. He couldn't get away from us fast enough. Well, maybe that wasn't completely true. I have to admit, he tried his hardest to be friends with the popular crowd and us geeks, but the strain didn't help him, neither did the peer pressure.

To be honest, I was rising in popularity as well, just not in the same way. The popular group had split, for lack of a better way to describe it. There was the standard popular faction and the more…unique faction I guess. My extremely unusual Goth attire and eating habits earned me a practically instant spot. Some guys started to notice me then. I resisted. It struck me as disgusting that people who wouldn't give me a second glance before now suddenly realized I existed just because I had a higher social status. After awhile though, I folded. Yes, me, the world renown non-conformist. I think it was a combination of things. I normally wouldn't care about peer pressure, but some other stresses in my life led to weakness.

To start it off, my parents are a pain. When they caught a whiff of my new status in the school, they were delighted. They spouted some garbage about making connections. They were also overjoyed to hear that me and Danny were getting father and farther apart. Another thing that made life difficult was a lack of support. In the splitting of the group, Tucker was left to fend for himself at the bottom of the food chain. I couldn't even look at him without some popular freak dragging me away. I had no real friends anymore. To in other words, I was craving for someone to lean on. Too bad that the boyfriends didn't help. They cared nothing about me; they only wanted someone to make out with.

In short, my life sucks. I never knew how hard Paulina had it. Yeah, even though I hate her guts for taking Danny, I at least know where she's coming from. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty much the same as her. In fact I hate myself now. I let Danny go, I abandoned him, I didn't tell him when I had the chance. I'm an idiot.

I'm brought back from my depths of my mind when Timothy pushes open the school door and we go out into the sunlight. I can still feel Danny's eyes. I look up into Timothy's eyes, and I keep my frown to myself. It's not there. It never was. Why do I keep looking? Past my Gothic exterior, I'm really a hopeful idyllic romantic at heart. I know I am, I think Danny might have known. It's all about Danny now, even though I've let him go. It will always be about him.

Timothy stops and brushes aside my hair. He kissed me. I feel nothing. He's a great kisser, one of the better ones I've been with. There's just nothing there. There never was. There never will be. I break away and give him a fake smile; it feels like it will split my face in half. Maybe it will. I almost hope it does. He smiles back and wraps me in his arms. I feel trapped. I see Danny and Paulina exiting the school over Timothy's shoulder.

It hurts me, to see them together. I see them kiss and I feel what's left of my heart lurch painfully in my chest. When Danny wraps his arms around her, I wish with all of my heart that it was me there and not her. Nothing happens, and even though I expected it, my idyllic, romantic side of me weeps. I think it will always weep. I would probably be better if I was really unfeeling.

I'm trapped in a prison I willingly walked into. All I can think about is him.

It's nothing less than torture.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright. So how was that? It was really a bit of an experiment, and something to remove my writer's block for my other stories. Please tell me how you like it! Critics are welcomed.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second part of Nothing Less Than Torture! I'm really sorry it took so long…

Oh, and when I said this would be a two-shot in the last chapter, I lied. Most likely it will be four chapters, the next being in Danny's POV.

Thanks to all of those who reviewed, I'm so happy that this got such a good response.

Disclaimer: I've never owned Danny Phantom…but I want to and so does Sam.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing Less Than Torture

Part Two

Life just sucks sometimes. It's the truth, plain and simple. I'll even take it a step further and say it can be a living hell. It's not like I have _too_ much to complain about, but having both of your supposed friends abandon you for popularity is a bit of a downer and quite a blow to self-esteem. It just has Bad Luck Tuck written all over it.

I guess I'll concede at one point. They at least tried to stay friends with me, but unfortunately, the popular people weren't so cool with that. Both of them attempted a few times to share some small talk with me in the halls or some other place. They couldn't even get a word other than "hi" out of their mouths before either they were dragged away or I was threatened into leaving by one of the hulking football players.

It's hard, seeing them talking with other people, and laughing at me along with the ones that they replaced me with. Funny, they don't have the same friends for longer than a week, the only exception being that Paulina never seems to want to leave Danny's side. I find it ironic that she still pines for the "Ghost Boy".

I still hold a vain hope that things might go back to the way things used to be, Danny and Sam obliviously flirting with each other and me poking fun at them all the way, ghost hunting and kicking all of the bad guys butts all the way back to the Ghost Zone. He still fights them, drives them away from our town, protects the city even though most of the citizens still say he's a villain. I'm starting to think that his hero complex is the only meaningful thing he has left. In that regard he's still the same old Danny I used to be friends with.

But it seems like everything else about him has changed. He's no longer the goofy, oblivious, young teenager he once was. He never _really _smiles anymore. He just simply changed.

In my opinion, for the worse.

Sam has changed too. She no longer is the rebellious, individualistic Goth with the fiery temper and raging jealousy. She's become a clone of the people she used to hate so venomously. It doesn't seem like she can handle having a steady boyfriend for longer than a few days, although with the guys she dates, I don't really blame her.

It's interesting how they're still so perfect for each other.

Even through all of this, they've changed in such a way that they'd still be the one for each other. But they're both still blinded. That's one of the few things about them that didn't change. No matter what, they never seem to want to admit their attraction. Of course, it's a bit less obvious now. With them both usually taken and Sam's jealously no longer what it used to be, no one else but me can spot it. I mean, I was friends with them for so long…If I try I could almost see right through them.

The way they act toward each other has changed too, but I guess that only makes sense. It seems like they try their hardest to avoid each other. When they are forced to pass each other in the hallways, or make eye contact, some interesting things go on. It's as though they were ashamed almost, like they can't look each other in the eye for too long…although it's the worst with Sam. Danny will sometimes stare at her as she walks past, as if studying her for some reason I don't really know of completely. Until of course, Paulina steals his attention back.

I see the longing in her eyes, the way she looks past her latest boyfriend's shoulder to see the real guy she wants to be with. Danny on the other hand, almost puts too much into his actions, almost like he were imagining someone else in his arms. I might be reading too much into his actions though. It's hard to tell with Danny. Sometimes he can be incredibly easy to read in one instant and impossible the next.

I don't have the heart to hate them. I can't., even though they abandoned me down here…because even though they have changed, the same old Danny and the same old Sam are still buried down in there somewhere.

And I think their level of happiness is just about the same as mine.

And what about me?

I don't think I've changed much. I've only lost the support and company of my friends. I'm still the nerdy techno-geek, except maybe I've sunk even deeper into the quagmire of the very bottom rung of the social ladder. I haven't had any other friends to take their place like they've replaced me. I don't know yet whether that's a good thing or not. All the other girls in the school are sill repulsed by me even though I don't try to hit on them any more. I didn't see much of a point to keep that up. It's amazing how much true friends can turn the dank cold of extreme unpopularity into a light and warmth that can be even better than being the top of the food chain. They can turn the hurt into laughter and the dark into light.

I don't have that light anymore, and I don't have that warmth.

All I'm left with is the cold, the dark, and the hurt.

It's nothing less than torture.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, how was that? Truthfully and honestly, I want to hear your opinion. I wasn't originally going to do a POV on Tucker, but Zoko suggested it and I thought it was a wonderful idea. I thought it turned out rather well…

Thanks Zoko!

Once again, please review and tell me anything, critics welcome and so are suggestions!

Thanks everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey people! I'm back with the Danny's POV!

I was a bit apprehensive with trying to write from inside his mind, and I'm not sure that I captured his thoughts and emotions to their fullest extent…but I tried my best. After this, there will be one more chapter which will wrap everything up. I hope all of you like this chapter!

A big thank you to all of the reviews I received. It really gives me a burst of inspiration to read them.

Disclaimer: You know, if I actually owned Danny Phantom, I wouldn't bother with writing fanfiction. My works would be actual episodes. Since they're not, it's safe to assume that I don't own the show.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing Less Than Torture

Part Three

I never thought my life could ever be this way. I'm _the most popular _guy in school.

Yet I feel miserable.

I have everything I dreamed I could ever want in life; popularity, adoration, acceptance, and even Paulina. The one girl I idolized, drooled over, and made a fool of myself for, is now idolizing, drooling over, and making a fool of herself for me. It's ironic, now that she supposedly "loves" me so much; my attraction for her has simply…died.

And that was all it was, attraction. It was a crush, it was me being an idiot and falling for a heartless and immature girl just because of her looks. Well, maybe not heartless. I just think that her heart was cut to pieces under the double-edged sword that popularity really is. I think it must be the fate all the popular people have to suffer through, myself included.

I can feel it; I've been turning into one of them. I can hear the goofy, naïve teenager in me dieing. One day, I'll wake up and be a useless shell. I won't have any heart left to care about anyone else. I'll stuff freshman, nerds, and geeks in lockers, date to up my social status even more, and beat guys up to prove how tough I am. I'll turn into a repulsive, brainless, heartless _thing._ Like Dash, but worse.

Will I turn into Vlad, then too? Using my ghost powers for my own gain? Instead of putting ghosts where they belong, will I use them in some mockery of chess?

All of this pressure, this back-stabbing mutiny that soaks every fiber of what popularity is…you can try to claw your way up the social ladder all your life and never get anywhere, but circumstances outside of your control can land you on the top instantly. It's when your at the top, when you realize that what you've been striving for, this yearning for recognition, isn't all what it's cracked up to be.

The things that truly mattered to me, I've left behind. I've left my friends. Tucker and Sam…the two people who would have done anything for me. And they have done a lot of things for me. We all just drifted apart. Sam and I to opposing sides of the popularity battle, and Tucker stranded there at the bottom.

It may be that I'm surrounded by people who call themselves my friends, but they wouldn't do the least thing for me unless they expected something back. It's a continuing cycle of who owes what and who's better than whom. It's a desperate attempt to give yourself some sense of worth that you really only half-believe.

Unless you're so far gone, that you've been completely blinded.

Like Paulina, the girl hanging so desperately to my arm that if she clung any tighter, my arm would turn purple. The funny thing is, even though she's so desperate to keep me, I know she still has that shrine of me in my ghost mode in her locker. Maybe she still has that girl's dream of being swept off of her feet like a knight would to a princess in a fairy tale. That dream's probably the only thing keeping her sane.

It's odd how much better I understand them though, where they're coming from and why they act the why they do. They're continually being pressured by others while pressuring everyone else themselves; constantly trying to live up to other people's standards while setting standards for other people to try to live up to.

It's getting harder. It just feels so wrong when I fight ghosts without them, my real friends. We were a team, and I never really realized before how much they helped. I barely get any sleep anymore. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up.

Not very long.

Paulina's trying to get my attention. She's probably feeling neglected again. I've been getting lost more and more in my thoughts lately...

"Dannnyyyy!" She wines in my ear.

"Hmmm?" I reply without much thought.

"Come on! Didn't you say you were going to take me to dinner and take me to a movie afterwards? I need to get ready!"

I turn my head towards her to respond, but over her head, I see Sam, Sam and her boyfriend of the week. I still don't know how she changed that much. She's almost turned into a girl version of Greggor…it's just that guys pile themselves at her feet instead of her having to try to catch them. In fact, I'd say she's almost turned into Paulina, the girl she used to hate; like I've almost turned into Dash.

Sam meets my eyes, and for awhile, she doesn't look away. Not until her boyfriend, whatever his name is, taps her on the shoulder. I see her snap something at him, and he holds his hands up in a placating gesture, muttering something back. He then wraps an arm around her, and she smiles at him.

But there's something missing. I can't put my finger on it, but something is just off.

They're starting to walk down the hall. Sam's fidgeting now, and her eyes are darting. She looks up at the guy with a sickening mockery of adoration. I know there's something wrong with that look. Something's wrong, and it's been bugging me. Her boyfriend acts all gentlemanly and opens the door for them to walk through.

Paulina's getting impatient so I follow their lead and walk outside with Paulina still clinging to me. As we walk through the door, I can see Sam giving him another smile.

There is just something so wrong!

I see him hug her, and that's when I can't watch anymore. I turn to Paulina instead and kiss her, hoping with all there is left in me that there is something there.

But there isn't.

Mimicking that other guy's actions, I wrap my arms around my…girlfriend…it's almost difficult to call Paulina that. I hug her, trying as hard as I can to either feel something or create the feeling.

I can't.

It hasn't ever worked and it never will.

Maybe I just can't feel anymore.

Maybe there really isn't anything behind love but physical attraction. Maybe there isn't supposed to be feelings that just are inexplicably right.

The world might as well have no meaning.

It's nothing less than torture.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay guys, if there was ever a chapter I want feedback on, it would be this one. I don't exactly know if I hit the mark with this chapter, so please tell me what you think.

Also, I'm debating with myself on whether to make the ending happy, sad, or somewhere in-between. Please tell me your preference!

Thank you so much!


End file.
